Supergirl

Born on the planet Krypton, Kara Zor-El escaped amid its destruction years ago. Since arriving on Earth, she's been hiding the powers she shares with her famous cousin. But now at age 24, she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and become the hero she was destined to be.

Gail Pennington

Tim O'Neil

Even if it’s dangerously overstuffed, and a bit too familiar in places, the Supergirl pilot still does such a nice job of establishing its protagonist that viewers will want to forgive the show its (numerous) clunky bits.

Mark Redfern

Part of what makes Supergirl work is the tone. Those who found Man of Steel too dark won't find much traction leveling similar complaints here, as Supergirl is full of light and hope, but not so much so that it doesn't have weight and drama.

Verne Gay

Hank Stuever

Supergirl is a cheerful and spot-on adaptation, skillfully accomplishing the difficult task of making a corny comic-book story seem not only believable but also welcoming to those who’ve tired (or never enjoyed) the genre.

Glenn Garvin

As the hour progresses and it flaunts its comic-book side (naturally, some supervillains have followed her to Earth, and even more naturally, there's a secret anti-extraterrestrial police force that wants to shut her up, because "nothing says 'covert operation' like a flying woman in a red skirty"), its essential nerdiness—the preferred PC synonym for "juvenile stupidity"—becomes overwhelming.

Josh Bell

The show sometimes goes too far with Kara’s rom-com-style personal life, but it never undermines her superheroics, and she holds her own against a nasty villain in the first episode.... It’s a promising--if a bit overly familiar--start.

Mark Dawidziak

The pilot episode for CBS' Supergirl does manage to get off the ground, yet it never really soars to the heights of the supercharged "Gotham" and "The Flash." Nor is it as immediately intriguing as those two DC-inspired shows.

Chuck Barney

Supergirl pretty much hits the beats you expect it to hit. There are rollicking battles enhanced by lots of digital trickery. There are hints of sinister threats to come, and some plot twists probably aren't as surprising as the writers think. Still, Supergirl is made with style and assurance, and it does enough to keep things interesting.

Robert Bianco

There are some heavy messages entangled there, but the pilot treads lightly and moves swiftly, quickly establishing the evil force Kara will have to fight and the team she'll have by her side. Yet it also leaves room for a little ambiguity about the wisdom of depending on superheroes. The cast (which includes myth-appropriate cameos from Dean Cain and Helen Slater) is good throughout, with Brooks and Jordan suitably supportive and Flockhart seemingly relishing her Devil Wears Prada role.

Robert Rorke

The script, by Berlanti, Ali Adler and Andrew Kreisberg, is a by-the-numbers affair that offers the character’s origin story up front, introduces the villain at just the right moment, throws in the requisite unexpected complication at the three-quarter mark and saves one twist for the final moment. Yet, there are some redeeming, clever touches, primarily whenever Kara (Melissa Benoist) has a scene with Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), her obnoxious media-mogul boss.

Maureen Ryan

There are some bumps in the road as the show lays out its premise, but Supergirl has a number of things going for it: Melissa Benoist is convincing and charming in the lead role; the supporting cast, which features the likes of Calista Flockhart, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks and David Harewood, is very good; and the leaders of the writing team behind it.

Brian Lowry

Good casting (including Mehcad Brooks as Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen--now hunky, African-American and going by the grown-up moniker James) and Benoist’s deft handling of her dual role create hope for the show going forward.... finding the right star, and constructing a credible pilot, are big parts of the battle. Thanks to those strengths, if the producers can sustain the playfulness and action without going overboard on Flockhart’s character, there’s reason to believe this “girl” can fly.

Dan Fienberg

Come for the top notch production values and the budgetary polish that being on CBS allows. Come for Benoist, who brings a sort of heroic decency you might call Christopher Reeve-esque. Come for Flockhart chewing scenery. I'd say to stay for the uplifting and progressive message, but that's up to you.

Mitchel Broussard

Although that female-focused message doesn’t have much to say right now other than “girls can kick but, too!”, its simplistic delivery ties in with the show’s overall straight-forward storytelling to culminate in an unexpectedly affecting premiere.

Mary McNamara

Best of all, Supergirl is just great television. Even those suffering from mild-to-severe super-hero fatigue will be instantly charmed by Benoist's initially uncertain Kara Zor-El and the slick and witty world Greg Berlanti has created for her.

Ellen Gray

There's so much fun stuff going on in Supergirl, from cameos by Dean Cain ("Lois & Clark") and Helen Slater (1984's "Supergirl"), as Kara's adoptive parents, to the introduction of a sizzling hot James "Don't Call Me Jimmy" Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), that it seems churlish to complain about a subplot that threatens to spoil the fun by making a federal issue out of Supergirl.... Benoist's Kara is a joyful heroine and a tough one.

Matthew Gilbert

The show, from busy TV producer Greg Berlanti, who is also responsible for “Arrow” and “The Flash,” is filled with such bits of self-awareness, most of it conveyed light-heartedly, cleverly, and charmingly.

David Sims

Overall, Supergirl is visually impressive (the special-effects budget can’t have been small), and it has just the right amount of self-awareness.... With CBS’s slick production and Benoist’s likable performance, [it] makes Supergirl an easy show to cheer for.

Alex Abad-Santos

There are spots where it's too overbuilt for its own good. Some might find that it lacks sophistication and is occasionally unseemly. But for comics fans (like me), who've watched superheroes slowly trade their joy for popularity, there are moments that will leave you with an irrational grin on your face. Supergirl isn't the best show on television right now, but it's one you might love the most.

Alan Sepinwall

Benoist is appealing enough, and the action sequences impressive enough, that the show gets away with the lack of subtlety. It's a competent superhero show made by people who've been doing this a while and have gotten better at it with each new stage of things.

Vicki Hyman

Only the first episode was available for review, but the writing and direction is assured enough that easy to see where this show headed: an uplifting thrill ride that isn't a heavy lift like so many dark superhero dramas.

Mark A. Perigard

Benoist is just so winning in this role.... As he did with CW’s “Arrow” and “Flash,” executive producer Greg Berlanti has managed to take a familiar superhero story and spin it into a TV show readers and new­comers can love.

Tirdad Derakhshani

The series is well made and features a fine performance by Melissa Benoist (Glee, Danny Collins) as Kara Danvers, a Kryptonian woman who drops to earth a few years after her more famous cousin, Clark Kent. But it also has a patronizing, paternalistic--if not downright reactionary--attitude to gender equality.